1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to personal computer (PC) systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mounting arrangement for a computer peripheral device. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer peripheral device that can be electrically and mechanically attached to the top of a computer monitor without the need for an external cable.
2. Background of the Invention
Various types of input/output devices, such as keyboards for example, can be used to operate a personal computer (PC). In addition to keyboards, PC's can also be controlled by various other input devices such as a mouse, trackball, joystick, or camera. Further, to electrically connect the input/output device to the computer, it is often desirable to physically attach the input/output device to the computer system.
Cameras currently are available for providing snap-shot or video input signals to the computer. Such cameras are controlled by the computer system. Commands, entered via the keyboard or selected from a menu by a mouse, are interpreted by the computer system which then provides electrical signals over a cable to the camera. The electrical signals received by the camera control when the camera takes a picture, as well as other operational aspects of the camera.
It is usually desirable to locate a camera on the top of a computer monitor, thus placing the camera roughly at eye level with the user. Once mounted to the monitor, most cameras can be rotated from left to right and pitched up and down as desired by the user. Cameras often are attached to the top surface of the computer's monitor by way of double-sided tape or Velcro, and a cable electrically connects the camera to the computer system. This arrangement is undesirable for several reasons. First, the cable between the camera and the chassis comprises one more cable in a computer system that may already be inundated with cables. Numerous cables typically are required to provide power to the computer chassis. For example, cables are required to provide power to the monitor, to connect the keyboard to the chassis, to connect a mouse to the chassis, and to provide connection to a network. The mass of cables already required in the computer system tends to cause confusion, is inconvenient, and is aesthetically unappealing. Thus, requiring another cable to connect a camera to the chassis further exacerbates the cable management problem facing the user.
Second, double-sided tape does not allow for easy repositioning of the camera, and tears upon removal. Even if Velcro is used to attach the camera to the monitor, the Velcro portion affixed to the monitor (a second strip of Velcro is affixed to the camera) is normally affixed using an adhesive which again makes repositioning of the camera difficult. Further, over time the tape or Velcro may loosen causing the camera to fall off the top of the monitor.
Third, many camera bases are too large for the top of the monitor where they are usually mounted, and thus protrude past the front edge of the monitor creating an aesthetically unpleasing mounting arrangement. Some monitors, in fact, do not have a top surface that is large and flat enough to allow a camera be securely affixed, forcing the user to find less desirable locations to place the camera.
Fourth, the camera may not be able to tilt through its entire range because there may be insufficient clearance between the camera and the monitor on which the camera is mounted. Finally, mounting a camera to the top surface of a monitor using such techniques as tape or Velco creates an unintegrated appearance and is cumbersome to use.
For these and other reasons, it would be desirable to provide a computer system in which a camera can be mounted to a surface, such as the top surface of the monitor, in such a way to avoid the problems characteristic of previous mounting schemes. Such a mounting arrangement should be easy for the user to use and allow the camera to be securely mounted. Despite the advantages such a mounting scheme would provide, no computer system is available with a mounting scheme for a peripheral device that solves the problems identified above.